Square One
by Kanathia
Summary: With Lucifer in the cage and the Apocalypse averted everyone thought life was going back to normal but Life and Death are rarely that convenient and no one is content with with their share any more. !A sequel to Illusions of Grandeur! Mild spoilers and swearing, not canoncentric
1. Ch 1: Friends and Foes

**We're back! Yaaaaaay!**

**For clarification to anyone who didn't really read the description. THIS IS A SEQUEL!**

**Please read Illusions of Grandeur FIRST.**

**alright, enjoy**

* * *

Ellen sat at the diner table with a straight back and a scowl. She had tried contacting Dean Winchester multiple times in multiple ways, each proved less successful than the last.

When she found that kid he was going to get an earful. Sam had proven just as hard to find as his brother. Though there was, at least in his case, word around the hunter community that he was alive and hunting. The chatter amongst sources was that the two weren't operating in the same circles now, though. And their angel friend Castiel went AWOL a couple of months back as well.

All of this had left Ellen rather displeased with the group. No one had bothered to drop her a note. And so, when she'd finally managed to track down one 'Bela Talbot', she'd been thoroughly incensed.

Bela had made short work of explaining the plan they'd used to attack Lucifer's compounds. In short the story was about twenty minutes of every possible thing that could go wrong doing just that. It had all gone to hell, every pun intended.

Bela and Gabriel had lost track of everything after withdrawing. Harry went missing, Sam and Dean had all but vanished as well, the two pagans that had survived called it a lost cause and fled, and Anna… Anna was dead.

Gabriel had found her corpse splayed out in the compound when they'd gone back to investigate several days later. According to Bela, Gabriel had been livid.

Her death certainly raised a few questions about how well armed the enemy truly had been. They'd gone in severely under prepared if the enemy was carrying angel blades.

Bela's slim figure slid into the bench seat across from Ellen and she spared a charming smile.

"It's been awhile." The ex-thief said simply.

"Nearly a month." Ellen shot back immediately.

"Any word from Mr. All-powerful on your end?"

Sometimes it was hard to tell if Bela meant Harry, Death, or God. "None." The answer remained the same regardless of which she meant. No one had made contact with her since her meeting with Death months ago. "Have you heard anything?"

"A bit here and there." Bela admitted. "An old friend of his found me."

"Harry's?"

Bela nodded. She looked mildly uncomfortable. "He said he was looking for Harry and some of his magic…"

Ellen knew Harry had brought Bela back from Hell, had even rebuilt a body for her. It wasn't all that surprising that a piece of his magic still resided in her. She pushed that awkward conversation to the side for the moment. "Can the guy find him?"

Bela shrugged. "He's supposed to call if he finds anything relevant." Ellen's excitement deflated quite instantly. "He knows you're looking though. Words been spreading through the witch community that you're out buying locating spells. I thought you hunters had more professional pride or some other nonsense."

Ellen grimaced. Like most hunters she was willing to put aside the job if it meant furthering a goal she was set to. She wasn't proud that she'd let some of those people live with just warnings. Looking for a change of topic she glanced around. "What about the boys?" she asked rather suddenly.

Bela perked up and shot Ellen a small grin. "That's another matter entirely.  
she said enthusiastically as she reached into the bag that had been casually leaning against her hip. "It seems our boy Dean has popped back up on the hunter radar."

Relief flooded through Ellen at the news. She may have said some unkind things early on in their relationship, but the Winchester boys had grown on her in a way their father never had. It was good to have proof they were both okay after all that happened even if she had warned Dean about losing touch before then.

"Word through the hunter grapevine is that our boy Dean has settled down."

Ellen blinked twice letting the image of Dean standing behind a white picket fence with a dog and children settle over her. The idea was laughable. She was pretty sure she'd just let out something between a snort of disbelief and a sarcastic chuckle by the look on Bela's face. What in the world had happened after she went away?

"Do you have an address?"

"As a matter of fact…" Bela flipped open the small folder she'd retrieved from the bag and stopped somewhere near the back. She pulled a small folded sheet of paper out and slid it towards Ellen still closed. "I do."

"He just gave up the life?" she asked, voice laced with incredulity as she stared at the paper that contained proof of Dean's turning his back on the life. She wanted to be proud of him. She might have been under different circumstances. "What about Sam?"

Bela shrugged. "Maybe he just got tired of taking care of Winchester plus size."

Ellen shook her head. Those two were almost scarily dependant on one another. There was no way Dean would just walk off on Sam. Something bigger was happening here.

"There was one other thing." Bela intoned, drawing her attention back. She pulled a photo from her bag and set it face down on the table next to the note. "He found that in Detroit… what was left of Detroit anyway."

Ellen lifted the photo and immediately dropped it back face down. Sitting, mid frame, was a severed hand burned and fragile looking. Next to it there was a set of rings.

"He seemed awfully sure it belongs to Harry." Bela said with a frown.

Ellen wasn't squeamish, far from it in fact. One had to be able to stomach quite a bit as a hunter after all. But the thought that the charred remain pictured there had once belonged to someone she knew was offputting.

"I think I need to pay a visit to John's boys."

* * *

The Garden of Heaven was beautiful. That was a purely objective appraisal too. Because of it's shifting appearance to appeal to each individual that entered it could be nothing but. To Micheal it was an endless maze of marble and flowers. The roses and carnations and tulips all mixed together in a harmony that could not be replicated on Earth.

And the Garden was where he spent most of his days now. He sat in its beautiful halls with a conundrum.

He'd been told, for the longest of times, that he was supposed to fight his brother. He'd been told that the apocalypse was an inevitability and that he would smite Lucifer and bring righteousness to the world. He didn't particularly want to smite his brother, but who was he to question divine will? It was hat particular crime that had led to Lucifer's imprisonment in Hell in the first place.

But was this all really divine will? And if so why had Lucifer been relocked in Hell? Was Michael intended to release his brother a second time just so might have their fight?

To add confusion to his dilemma Gabriel, whom they had all thought long dead, had resurfaced with surprising loyalties. Heaven was still in an uproar over that and he hadn't the faintest idea how to quell it besides smiting more angels and weakening his own reserves.

"Micheal?" A small, uncertain voice sounded drawing him from his thoughts. He turned an inquisitive eye on the angel that had interrupted him. She quivered under his icy stare.

"Yes?"

"I've been told to report to you the situation on Earth."

Michael turned his full attention her way now. Hopefully there would be more news now. Hopefully he'd be able to make a decision about the fate of this apocalypse.

* * *

Ellen checked the paper and then looked back at the house uncertainly. Not only could she not imagine Dean Winchester living in this way too ordinary looking house the place looked recently vacated.

Still, she climbed out of her truck and approached the door. She gave it three sharp raps and then waited. No one answered. There wasn't so much as a shifting of shadow behind the drawn curtains.

"Hey!"

Ellen tried not to pull her gun at the sudden exclamation behind her. She turned warily to see a middle aged man in bright jogging clothes staring at her quizzically but smiling all the same. He seemed the overly friendly type.

"You checking the place out for rent?"

She shook her head and approached him slowly. "I'm looking for someone that might've lived here. His name's Dean."

"Dean?" the guy's eyes lit up. "I know Dean!"

She tried not to let her disbelief show. She doubted the man knew much at all about Dean. His appearance and demeanor didn't exactly shout 'hunter'.

"Yeah, nice guy. Bit of a mystery though." The man continued. "He and Lisa up and moved a couple of days ago. Haven't seen him since. Seemed kinda sudden. He hadn't mentioned moving before then. Something must've happened in one of their families or something."

"Did he leave a forwarding address? Any way to contact him?" She doubted it. It would have been sloppy of him to leave behind a trail if he'd had to relocate.

The man's eyes narrowed suddenly and he hesitated for the first time. "Who did you say you were again?"

Ellen had never had mush use for fake ID's but in that moment she wished she had one. This seemed like the sort of situation where one could benefit from having an FBI badge. "I'm a friend of Dean's." she stuck with the truth, though she was curious who this 'Lisa' was. "Something bad happened to a mutual friend and I've been trying to track him down ever since."

He assessed her for a few more moments before whipping out his phone. "How much could a phone number hurt any way right?" the man said jovially to himself while scrolling through his contacts. He stopped on Dean's name and turned the phone her way.

She quickly jotted down the number and thanked the man. At least the trip hadn't been a total bust. With a final farewell she slipped back into her truck and retrieved her worn out cell phone. She punched the number in slowly and then hit the dial button.

The line rang once and then an automated message informed her the number had been disconnected. That screamed paranoia to her, hunter paranoia. Something had happened in this average suburban neighborhood. But what? What had set Dean off?

Ellen's mind snapped straight to Ash. He'd've been able to track the boys down in hours based on some ridiculous algorithm he thought up off the top of his head. She missed that freeloader sometimes.

She'd figure this one out though. She'd use a bit of her hunter ingenuity.

* * *

Lisa placed a glass into the cabinet and let out a sigh. She glanced at Dean who seemed to be completely engrossed in constructing a shelving unit for the living area.

He hadn't said much since they'd gotten here, but he was acting a lot more paranoid since they'd left the other house. She opened her mouth to ask him for the millionth time what had him so nervous, fully expecting another brush aside, but a knock on the door interrupted her. She hesitated from her position in the doorway and shared an intense look with Dean.

"Grab Ben." Was all the instruction he gave her before he was off the floor and moving, leaving her to follow his abrupt direction. He grabbed a hunting knife as Lisa caught her son who had been descending the stairs with curiosity written on his face.

No one should know they were in this house yet. They hadn't told anyone. Dean grasped the knife tighter and pulled it back just out of sight of the doorway. He hoped it was just one of those over eager neighbors that brought your casseroles and jello moulds to introduce themselves.

The door swung open slowly to reveal a middle aged, but striking, blond woman staring at Dean in a guarded manner. She looked as though she were trying to decide whether to punch or hug him.

Dean blinked sluggishly and his knife arm fell a bit. "Ellen?"

"Don't you 'Ellen' me." She spat back angrily.

Dean just looked completely thrown for a loop.

"Dean?" Lisa asked uncertainly. That seemed to snap the hunter from his daze. He looked Ellen up and down before gesturing for her to step through the door. A devil's trap lay under the rug.

Ellen stepped through the doorway and over the sigil without difficulty. She held out her hand as if annoyed but understanding. Dean ran through the other tests quickly.

The moment he put away his silver blade she wound back and slugged him hard on the cheek. He staggered a bit and Lisa's hands tightened on Ben's shoulders.

"Holy!..." Dean hissed massaging his cheek with wide eyes. "What the hell Ellen?!"

"I told you to put me on speed dial kid." She shot back. "Half of Detroit blows sky high with someone we know in the middle of it and you don't think that warrants a phone call? Why do I have to keep finidng out you're alive from people like Rufus?"

The dour hunter had, in fact, played a large part in helping Bela find information on the Winchesters.

Dean looked sheepish now.

"Dean?" Lisa asked again, uncertainty in her tone.

"Oh…" Dean seemed finally to remember they weren't the only ones in the room. He turned toward the two of them and floundered a bit. "Ellen… um…"

"Ellen Harvelle." Ellen took over the introductions as Dean seemed terribly inadequate at them. "An old family friend of Dean's." She shot him a glare.

Lisa relaxed marginally. "All kinds of people are showing up out of the blue recently." She joked with a wavering smile. "My name's Lisa, Lisa Braeden. This is my Son Ben."

Ellen nodded in their direction.

"What's going on Ellen?" Dean finally asked. "Why are you here?"

She turned an icy glare on him. "I came to find out what happened." She told him bluntly. "You and your brother go to fight the devil and-"

He moved forward swiftly startling her in confused angry silence. "Maybe we can… talk somewhere else?" Dean asked giving a subtle nod in the direction of Ben.

Ellen took one look at the almost hero worshipping look on the boy's face and her anger toward Dean fizzled out. Hadn't hunting claimed the lives of enough children already? Why did kids always think it was so glamorous?

She gave Dean a nod and watched him make his excuses to Lisa before ushering her out. The lawn seemed as good a place as any to lay into Dean. No neighbors were outside probably because it was mid morning on a weekday but clouds roiled in the sky above them as well.

"How many times do I have to tell you to pick up a phone, kid?" she fumed. "You go into something like that you call me, yeah?"

"We thought you still needed time." Dean replied quickly, though he refused to throw Jo's name in. "I'm glad you didn't come though. There no telling how it might have went. I already lost Bobby. I thought I lost Sam. Cas disappeared. I don't think I could've handled more.

Her brow scrunched in confusion. "Sam?"

"He disappeared with Cas the night it all went down. He just showed up recently, tells me he's been around the whole time and just never bothered to call."

The sounded off. Sam was never the clingy brother but he never really left Dean up in the air about life or death situations either. "And Harry?" she asked. Had Dean been as out of the loop this whole time as she had been? Spending his time making a family in suburbia instead of hunting?

"I couldn't get to anyone. I didn't know what happened. Hell, I'm still not sure what happened."

"And Sam was avoiding you?"

Dean looked uncomfortable with the thought. "He said he left me behind for this." He gestured to the house behind him inside of which were Lisa and Ben. "I made him a promise before we went in to the hell hole if anything… happened to Sam I'd find Lisa and try to live normal. I spent months searching. Detroit was leveled and everyone was just… gone."

"And the promise was all you had left…" Ellen finished for him.

He nodded.

"He showed up again?"

"A few weeks back." Dean fidgeted.

"He brought trouble with him."

"That's what hunters do, right?" Dean said bitterly.

"That's not what bugged you, is it?"

"Of course not!" Dean said vehemently the started to pace. "I wanted to know my brother was alive!"

Ellen let the yelling go. There was nothing she could do to ease his pain just as there was nothing he could do to ease hers. "So you don't know what happened?"

He shook his head. His scowl spoke volumes on his feelings about being left behind though. "Why are you trying to find him?"

It was a simple enough question but it made her inexplicably angry to hear it come from Dean Winchester's mouth. Why did she need a reason? Hadn't the man done enough for them that a little effort wasn't unwarranted at this point? "Does your loyalty only extend as far as blood?" she spat viciously.

He looked startled by her reaction.

"If you don't want to help him just because of all the help he's given up over the years I figured you'd at least want to find him for Bobby." She paused for a moment at the look on his face. A bit of the heat leaked from her words. "Yes, I heard about Bobby. Maybe if you'd get your head out of your ass and do some digging like the hunter you are you'd know things too."

Dean had gone stony faced and he was pale and shaking as if repressing something.

She took a deep breath and leveled her voice. "My point here is that Harry did a lot of good for us. He night have wrapped it in seven layers of sarcasm, but he did good. And we've done wrong by him." She glanced at the window as she saw a concerned Lisa glance out. "You two may not have seen eye to eye on a lot of things, but if it was your ass in hell I'm sure he'd be a working through a way to get you out."

Dean had the grace to look guilty. And then his phone rang through the awkward silence. He pulled it from his pocket with an apologetic grimace in her direction. "Hello?"

"Dean!" Sam's voice burst over the loud speaker, nearly making Dean drop the phone. "Look, I know I said I wouldn't call but uh… I've got a situation."

"I'm sure you can handle it." Dean countered.

"What sort of situation?" Ellen bit out with a reprimanding glance Dean's direction.

"Who's… Is that Ellen?" Sam's surprised question filled the air followed quickly by. "Good, bring her too."

"Sam, what the he-" the dial tone met Dean's outraged question followed by a cheery beep as he received a set of coordinates from Sam via text.

"Your brother usually that abrupt?"

Dean scowled as he pocketed the phone. "No."

* * *

"I'm at a bit of a loss here." Ellen stared at the small child in Sam's arms. Her eyes snapped to his. "This is not the sort of situation I was expecting when you called." She motioned for him to hand over the child and he was more than happy to oblige, shoving the child her way in the blink of an eye.

"Why did you call me?" Dean asked disbelievingly.

"Well… you were closest." Sam trailed off then his eyes focused on Ellen. "And it turned out Ellen was with you. It's good to see you back in the fray Ellen."

She gave him an incredulous look but said nothing.

"Why didn't you take the kid to your new hunting buddies instead? No, wait, bigger question, whose kid is that? Why do you have a kid with you Sam?"

"Well…" Sam drug his feet. "It's complicated."

"Un-complicate it." Dean bit back.

"The kid's a shifter Dean."

That gave the other two pause.

"You've seen it shift?" Ellen asked eying the baby in a new light.

"With my own eyes." Sam responded immediately.

"Is that what the goo in your back seat is from?" Dean looked like he was trying to suppress his mirth. Sam's face turned sour at the reminder.

"What do we do with it?" Sam changed topic abruptly. He eyed the child with obvious distaste.

"What do you mean by 'do with it'?" Ellen snapped immediately, not liking the Winchester's tone. "We aren't killing a child!"

"Whoa!" Dean put his hands up in a surrendering fashion. "No one was suggesting that Ellen."

"Well it certainly sounded like it."

Sam mocked his brother's gesture.

Ellen huffed as the child in question gurgled happily. "We'll find someone to leave it with."

"Well there's-"

"No Sam!" Dean cut his brother off with a glare.

Silence rang through the clearing for a moment. "I get the feeling I'm missing something big here." Ellen interjected. "Someone wanna fill me in?"

Dean kept his heavy gaze on his brother and Sam stared right back, unfazed. Sam's lack of reaction only seemed to irritate Dean further. Finally Dean began to explain. "Sam's been hunting with a new group lately."

"Dean-" Sam sighed.

"A new group?" Ellen spoke over Sam. She glanced between the two. "I thought you boys only worked with family."

"They _are_ family." Sam insisted.

Ellen shot him an incredulous look.

"Cousins, mostly." Sam explained further when neither stopped him. "And… Samuel… our grandfather. Our family."

"No, Sam!" Dean protested with balled fists. "Our blood. _Not_ our family."

"Since when were those two different things Dean?" Sam asked with confusion.

"I'm sensing a bit of hostility here…" Ellen cut in. "Did something happen?"

"Yes… well, no… not exactly." Dean ground out haltingly. "It's weird though."

Ellen took in Dean's body language. The hunched shoulders, tense back, and clenched jaw all said there was more he wanted to say and she didn't think it was her presence that was making him hold back. Which meant it was Sam he was having doubts about spilling the beans in front of. Something serious must've happened. More serious than Sam just acquiring new hunting partners.

"Alright, fun as this has been I had other ideas for where we could relocate this little guy. I'm sure we can find him a home with the right kind of people who are still in the know." Ellen suggested digging at her phone that was wedged in her pocket.

Dean actually seemed to relax marginally but Sam's frown deepened just slightly.

A shrill, high pitched ring tone filled the air. Sam cringed and the baby began to wail. Ellen tried to shush the baby while still digging at the phone but eventually gave up and handed the child off to Dean.

She fumbled with the display once she'd freed the device in a hasty attempt to answer once she'd seen the number. "Bela?" she asked immediately. Dean cringed at the name.

"Nope." a peppy male voice replied. "It is her phone though, so points for trying. I wouldn't even say it was a bad guess. The name's Patrick."

"The 'old friend' of Harry's she told me about?"

"Oi now love, watch where you throw the word old. It's not very nice. Prefer 'experienced' myself."

So that was a round about 'yes' then.

"I called to let you know some exciting news."

Her heart climbed into her throat.

"There was a massive power flux a few hours ago. We thought it might have been a hell gate opening since it came from that direction…" he said smoothly. "But it was his power."

She wasn't sure if he meant Death's or Harry's but either way it had to be a good sign, right? Both were relevant. "Where?" was the first thing out of her mouth.

The man gave a petulant sigh. "It's never 'thank you' with you hunters, is it? It's always 'what else can you do for me'?" There was a small lull as if he were waiting for an apology but none were forthcoming. "I'm still pinpointing where exactly, but I've narrowed it down to Utah."

Utah seemed a strange place for Death to try and bring Harry back, but she wasn't about to start complaining.

"Look, Bela will call you back when I have more than that, capiche?" without waiting for a response the line went dead and she stared at it in confusion.

"Was it good news?" Sam asked though he seemed disinterested.

"Yes…" she replied numbly before shaking her head to gain focus. "Alright, let's go find this little guy a home because I need to hit the road."

* * *

"Come on Cas!" Gabriel sighed. "It's not so bad."

Castiel gave his brother a look that spoke volumes about how much he didn't want to be there. "It must be safe to leave soon."

"You know it isn't." Gabriel shot back immediately strutting forward with a martini glass full to the brim with jelly beans. "Those chuckle heads took care of Luci, sure. But they missed the other big fish and Mikey's not happy about all of it. If you go flying around like you used to he'll find you and you'll get roasted extra crispy."

Cas stared at his brother for a few moments taking in the words again. They'd had this argument nearly every day for nigh on a year now.

"Now come on!" Gabriel forced the glass into his brother's hand. "Lighten up a bit. You never know when you're gonna get your last chance to mambo. Might as well…"

Castiel wasn't sure why Gabriel stopped. For a long moment the arch angel looked like he was caught in a daze. Then he felt it, like a beacon. All too familiar magic was sounding like an alarm clock in the distance and if they could feel it, chances were the other angels could as well.

The brightly lit room full of sweets and girls disappeared around them leaving the two in a drab old hotel room.

"That was…" Castiel muttered.

"Harry, yeah." Gabriel confirmed. He turned his gaze to the younger angel. "You said he was pulled into the cage with Luci."

"He was." Castiel confirmed absently. "Maybe he found a way out."

"Much as I like the guy let's hope not."

"Why?"

"Because, if Harry can find a way out of the cage, Luci can too."

* * *

**Fishlake National Forest**

**Beaver, Utah**

Jalen Waters and his son Derek sat at their camp fire enjoying the quiet of the night and their fire roasted hot dogs. They'd been out camping for three days now and finally managed to catch a fish just a bit earlier but they'd lost the light before they could clean it properly. So they'd settled in on the last of their hot dogs instead. They ate fast as the occasional thunder clap threatened rain.

"It's a shame your sister didn't want to come." Jalen commented absently.

Derek shrugged. Then his face lit up and a snicker escaped him as a memory popped into his head. "'Member that time Bethany-" the younger man stopped talking as a crash sounded in the forest.

"The hell?" Jalen stood, glancing around he motioned for his son to come closer.

The air between the two was tense now and Derek fumbled for one of the shotguns as light began to show between the trees. You never knew who you'd meet in the wilderness. Better to come prepared.

"Good evening gentlemen."

Both men wheeled around to face the voices owner. A petite woman in a firmly pressed business suit stood there with a small frown on her lips.

"I'm afraid you two really did choose the wrong spot to camp this evening."

Both men were bewildered by the cold edge to the small woman's voice. They weren't even sure how the immaculately clad woman had snuck up on them.

"I regret to inform you that on my boss' orders anyone in this area has to die."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**SOoooo… yeah… this happened. Sorry about the lack of Harry in this chapter. With him stuck in hell and all it's not like I could just be like 'poof' and have him back.**

**Also, who gets an internet cookie for remembering Micheal was still out and about before I brought it up?**

**Thanks for reading guys. Still working on the side stories. We'll get a bit of what happened with Ellen during her time away in one of them. I'm hoping I can do a lead up so you guys will understand why getting Harry back became important to her… It's either that or write out a really long flashback chapter and I never really liked those in the stories I read… soooo… yeah.**

**Anyway, thanks again. 'til next time!**

**~Kanathia**


	2. Ch 2: Hell and other such things

Life is a series of reactions. Chemical reactions, physical reactions, emotional, meta physical, and so. Being dead, one might assume, in contrast is a lack of reaction. Death is the final note a person gets to play before they're removed from the chain of living, breathing reactions.

But then what?

That's the big question for most of humanity.

Most people don't know, or didn't know there was an apocalypse. Past tense. They don't know that some hunters cross the boundaries of life and death and bounce back again with a definite answer about the afterlife.

But perhaps it was better that way.

Harry had always assumed as much. He didn't feel that life's greatest mystery deserved spoiling. He himself was intimately familiar with the answer anyway and it wasn't all that impressive if he were being honest.

He was, in fact, trapped in said afterlife at the moment. And trapped was really the only way he could think to describe it. He hadn't died. Even after the portal nearly ripped his soul from his body when it made an attempt to remain on the far side of said portal. The damned thing had been brutal, but at least it had gotten the job done.

The bloody Earth was safe again. For the moment anyway. Assuming Michael wasn't throwing a bitch fit about Lucifer disappearing. But the plan was a success. And he was stuck in Hell… again.

He hadn't liked his last tour. Hadn't really thought he'd have to stick around longer this time.

But the cage presented an entirely new problem than Hell had. Hell was guarded by a series of demons who were, frankly, pretty bad at their jobs. The cage was different. It was _designed_ to keep things in. The more powerful the thing inside was the harder the cage fought it. He'd found his way into a binding circle and the dick of an angel that had been dragged in with him knew he was stuck. So Lucifer had bided his time. Harry's magic couldn't hold out forever.

Harry'd screamed himself hoarse when it finally faltered. His magic had held out for a long time. Years, even. But he was one man and the devil is just as patient as they make him out to be in all those myths.

It was a quiet moment now. One of those times when Lucifer got bored with tormenting Harry and turned his sights elsewhere. Harry sucked in the air greedily from his chains as if the stale gas alone could sustain the mortal body that had been pulled into the pit. His latent magic was the only thing knitting his torn body back together at this point. He lacked the energy to direct a healing spell consciously.

"I might have thought to find you in a more dignified position."

Harry had heard many voices during his stay in the cage, but this wasn't one Lucifer had tried yet. He managed to lift his neck and glimpse the suited legs in front of him, slim as ever.

"Let me… pour some… champagne." Harry got out wheesily between his battered ribs and parched throat.

"I believe I owe you a secret."

Harry's head jerked up at that statement, and though it hurt immensely he kept it aloft so he could hold the gaze of the being in front of him. How could Lucifer know about his arrangement with Death? He stared into the cool black eyes in front of him that regarded him passively.

What was something Lucifer couldn't know? It had to be something from before his time. Harry's mind was slow to dig up old facts that had long been buried in the recesses of his mind.

"What was… the name of… my headmaster?"

Death's eyes glinted first in annoyance and then in understanding. "Albus Brian Wulfric Percival Dumbledore. A bit of a mouthful really. I don't understand the need to name someone four times."

Harry snorted but held Death's gaze fast.

"I've come to escort you back."

"I had… it under… control." Harry wheezed again.

"I can see that."

Death reached forward…. And then there was nothing. The heat and the weight of the chains disappeared and Harry had the distinct sense of falling and then floating. It was peculiar to say the least. And then, out of nowhere, he was kneeling in the middle of a street.

The ground was wet and storm clouds rolled overhead. The air smelt of fresh rain. It was all so real, so overwhelming. It felt like an eternity since he'd known the world.

The first of the storm's drops hit him and he closed his eyes so he might enjoy the first bit of water he'd felt in years. The sky opened and a torrential downpour hid him from view. He took a few moments to enjoy the sensation before he glanced down and noticed his tattered clothing. He supposed the rain was a blessing in more than one way. He must be quiet the sight to behold.

XXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rain soaked the streets of Beaver, Utah where they landed. The small town itself was almost dead thanks to the hour.

"Utah." Gabriel muttered. "He's really slumming it now that he's back isn't he?"

Cas shot his brother a reprimanding glance. Gabriel responded with a shrug. "Let's be quick about this…" Castiel said scanning the hazy streets. "If we felt his power…"

"Chances are the douche brigade felt it too." Gabriel agreed. "Would it kill you to enjoy the moment though?"

At the sight of Castiel's still impassive face Gabriel decided to abandon the jokes for a moment.

They wandered down the street in the near blinding rain. Castiel stopped in front of an antique shop and turned questioning eyes on Gabriel. "Can you sense him?"

Gabriel let his grace slip out inquisitively before quickly pulling it back in with a shake of his head. It was with that movement that he caught sight of the bus stop down the street. The sheltered bench in front of a map was completely empty, but just a few feet away sat another at the mercy of the elements. Seated on its weather beaten wood was a man.

Gabriel made his way forward with a curious Cas trailing right behind. Just a block away Gabriel could see that the man had his head tilted to the sky so that the rain pelted against his face. His clothes wouldn't even pass inspection for a hobo and he was looking a great deal thinner than when they'd last met, but the shaggy mane of black hair, now a bit longer, was unmistakable.

"Out for a lovely mid day stroll?" Gabriel asked when he stopped just feet from him.

Tired, green eyes opened and shifted in his direction. There was a hint of amusement in their depths. "Wouldn't you… know it, got caught… by the rain."

But the energy consuming statement seemed far from a complaint.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Lovely." Bela commented as the shifter child burped up on Dean's jacket. Dean scowled at the thief and shifted toward the car seat by the exit so he could set the child down.

"You sure she's legit?" Sam asked Ellen for the hundredth time but his eyes followed his brother's movements.

Ellen shot the tall man an annoyed look.

"Well I never pictured either of the Winchesters as far material." Bela said with a smirk in Dean's direction. "But we'll find a home with someone in the know. My network extends pretty far. I'm sure there's someone out there who'd be overjoyed to raise a shifter."

"Any word from Patrick?" Ellen cut in before Sam could object again.

"A bit." Bela admitted. "He's narrowed it down to a pretty small slice of Utah. He's doing a locating spell as we speak. Or trying to at least. Finding the right words to use can be difficult when you're not really sure what to call someone's species."

She paused as if expecting a laugh, receiving nothing but blank looks she continued. "We should have a town by the time you the border if you want to head out."

Ellen glanced at Sam who shrugged, indicating it was her call. She turned and approached Dean. The man was rocking the car seat absently to keep the baby from fussing.

"We have a lead on Harry. Are you coming?"

Dean hesitated.

"You said you wanted your brother back Dean. He's right there."

Dean shot her a glance that was loaded with unspoken words. He opened his mouth, then his gaze met Sam's and his jaws clamped shut again.

Ellen didn't like keeping secrets, especially from family, but she needed to know what Dean's issue was.

"Why don't we step outside?" she offered.

Dean gave her a hesitant nod but followed quickly enough. As soon as the door closed she rounded on him.

"What's going on?" she asked. "You've been acting odd around your brother."

Dean cringed. "That obvious?"

Ellen gave him a deadpan 'yeah' look.

"He's just… different since he showed up. I can't put my finger on it but he's just not the same Sammy."

Ellen nodded understandingly as she processed his answer. "Did you ask Sam about what happened last year?" Dean took a step back guiltily. "Some things change a person Dean. Maybe he just needs someone to talk to about it."

"Then why stay away for a year?"

"Guilt?" she shrugged. "A false hope that you could be normal maybe."

"False…" Dean's tone shifted from confused to angry in seconds.

"You can't get out Dean." Ellen crossed her arms and stared him down. "Not now. You've pissed off too many people, made it on to too many hit lists."

Dean opened his mouth to defend himself.

"Promise or not." She continued before he could pipe up. "You know it's not that simple. Hunters don't get to just stop being hunters when life gets too hard. The bad things've got your card kid and they're gonna come knocking whether you're ready for them or not. And that girl and her kid don't deserve to be dragged into this war with you."

She turned back to the door before she offered him a sympathetic gaze. "If you don't cut ties they're gonna get hurt Dean." She put bluntly finally relieving something that had been building in her since she heard Lisa's name. "And no amount of well wishing is going to change that."

XXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"We lost him sir." The angel knelt in front of Michael, eyes averted reverently. "We scoured every inch of the forest and town but we couldn't find him."

"Clearly you didn't do a good enough job then." Michael snapped, half tempted to take his irritation out on the bearer of bad news.

"We've faced this problem before."

Michael's attention snapped to the angel who'd been standing in the corner all morning. She rarely spoke in his presence except to relay something she might have overheard on angel radio while he was lost in thought.

"He's crafty. He's always been able to avoid our sentinels in the past." She reminded him. "I don't think it was a lack of effort on our part."

"Then what?" An irritable Michael snapped.

"A lack of skill perhaps?" she suggested. "Most of our brothers and sisters were born long after his kind were wiped from existence."

Michael dropped into the chair behind his desk gracefully. "The real problem isn't Potter." Michael admitted. "He's a relic of a time long past that would best be laid to rest, but it's Lucifer that concerns me."

"Lucifer sir? Is he not still in the cage?"

"The wizard's ability to escape the cage raises into question Lucifer's ability to do the same."

"You doubt god's handiwork?"

He turned cold eyes her way but she held her ground admirably. "I know my brother's… ingenuity."

"Do you think Lucifer might have found a way out as well?"

Michael shook his head. "I will know when or if he escapes."

There was a beat of silence. "Then I'm not sure I grasp your concern."

Michael himself wasn't sure. There was just… apprehension there. He'd been told for millennia he'd have to fight Lucifer but now that future was uncertain, even unlikely. He was moving unscripted now. It was frightening, but it also made him feel powerful.

XXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Castiel wasn't sure what they were meant to do now. They'd found Harry after so long on just a fluke. His mind seemed… relatively okay considering he'd just escaped centuries of torture in Hell. But his body was definitely suffering some set backs.

Harry was dangerously thin and covered in more wounds than Castiel had ever seen on a single person. To top it off they'd barely made it through thirty seconds of conversation before the wizard's eyes had rolled back in his skull mid sentence and he'd pitched face first toward the ground.

He was definitely far from the picture of health. Castiel assumed it was his magic that both kept him from starving to death but also adversely kept the sort of stasis in Hell at bay.

Castiel stood watching the wizard sleep, rather fitfully if the grimaces and twitching were anything to judge by. It was to be expected though, surely. One couldn't walk away from Hell without a few nightmares.

"Stop staring at him." Gabriel snapped in Cas' direction from his spot by the table.

The archangel was flipping through a newspaper and intermittedly circling names. He'd said it was research when Cas asked earlier.

The younger angel didn't bother defending his actions. They'd been together for nigh on a year now, far long enough for Gabriel to grow accustomed to Cas' peculiarities and vice versa. Cas knew his brother would laugh off his concerns. Sometimes he envied his brother's carefree nature. Other times it befuddled him.

A knock interrupted the gloomy silence of the room. The angels shared a look and with a blink Gabriel was sending a copy of himself to answer the door. It swung open to reveal a slight man. He was perhaps 5'5" and of a thin build He offered the two angels a charming smile despite their obvious and immediate distaste. "Afternoon gents. Thought I'd pop by to see an old friend."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx

"Did you find him?"

"No." The woman shook her head in disappointment. "The angels beat us to the town and we had to pull out of the forest soon after to avoid confrontation."

The man nodded staring at the book in front of him. "It's a shame. We may not even have had to go through with this plan if we could get his help."

"You think he would?" she asked with surprise.

The man shrugged and delicately shut the small book. "He is a relatively neutral party in the matter."

"Still," she countered. "The angels."

"There's no helping it." The man agreed. "If they knew we were seeking him they might join the fight as well."

"And we're barely managing a one front war." The woman replied flippantly.

The man stroked the book's spine affectionately. "Not for long."

XXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxx

"So, unfortunately…"

"What?!"

"Turn around…"

"What?"

"Patrick just got a fix on the location and… well… someone moved him. Not far thankfully and they didn't quite get around to blocking him so it's probably not our pals from upstairs, but…"

Ellen heaved a sigh but wheeled around anyway motioning for the Winchesters to do the same.

"How far back are we talking?"

"Not far as long as you weren't speeding too much." Bela assured her. "They're just West of the border."

Ellen punched the accelerator and watched the impala behind her match speed.

"I'm texting you details. Try not to read it while driving." Bela said with a hint of amusement.

"Thank you Bela."

"Not a problem." Bela replied, though she made it sound far from the truth. "I'll be going off the grid for a while now. Send my love."

The line went dead and Ellen set the phone on the seat beside her to reference whatever Bela sent her. Ahead the road forked and Ellen veered right to head West. Her phone dinged cheerfully signaling the arrival of Bela's instructions. She caught sight of the town's name before the screen was filled with a notice for an incoming call.

"Ellen?" Dean's voice blared a bit too loudly. "What's up? Why the sudden direction change?"

"Bela finally got back to me with a location and he's moved. He's in Pioche. That's as much info as I got before you called."

"Pioche?" Dean blurted, confused. "I thought she said he was in Utah."

"He's moved apparently."

There was a pause, then a sigh. "Alright, we're following you." And the line disconnected.

It didn't take them long to hit the border Utah, Nevada border and from there even less time to make it to Pioche. The little, ramshackle town barely stuck out amongst the white washed rock of the Nevada desert.

Slowing into the town's speed limit Ellen grabbed her phone and found the name of the motel they were looking for. It wasn't particularly hard to find. Pioche didn't have enough square mileage to make circling an issue. The motel was tiny and couldn't have had more than twenty rooms on hand. It didn't seem the type of place Harry himself would have chosen. She parked in the spot closest to the room number they were looking for and watched as the brothers pulled in beside her. Each had insisted they bring their own car… Men.

"This the place?" Sam asked, having approached first. He was eying the numbered doors warily and fingering a knife in his belt.

She nodded her confirmation and waited just long enough for Dean to join them before she set off after room number thirteen. She stopped right outside and hesitated a moment before knocking.

There had been a casual murmur of voices behind the door but they stopped suddenly at the noise. Moments later the door swung open to reveal Gabriel's tense face. The scowl lessened somewhat when he saw her, but came back to its full intensity when he caught sight of her company. He let out a petulant groan but opened the door wider for them anyway.

"Don't look so happy to see us." Dean quipped as he elbowed past the door. It slammed behind him.

The inside of the room was… different than any of the three had been expecting. It was obvious the trickster had redecorated. They were standing in a multiple room suite. The room they were standing in was a small dining/kitchenette area.

"Cas?" Sam asked in surprise, catching sight of the two men who were standing near the doorway to the next room.

"You!?" Dean said in the same shocked tone but he pointed rather rudely at the man next to Castiel. He was the only one in the room Ellen didn't recognize.

"It's fantastic to see you again too." The man replied with a decidedly Irish accent.

"Patrick, right?" Ellen asked, recognizing the voice. The man nodded, switching his attention her way. "You two know each other?"

"To an extent." The man spoke over Dean's flustered noises. "We met briefly a few years back."

"On a case." Sam butted in. "The guy's a witch." It was obvious the tall man was itching to put a bullet in said witch.

"I've always found that term objectionable." Patrick conceded.

"I thought everyone here was past the whole 'kill anything that's not entirely human' urge." Gabriel cut in with a harsh look in Sam's direction.

"It's not really the 'non-human' part I'm trying to get past." Dean admitted.

"Are you still on about nearly dying Dean?" Patrick asked with mock surprise. "I thought we'd gotten past that. Your brother here won back your years after all. And it's not my fault you're a terrible poker player."

Dean tensed.

"It's not important." Ellen cut in before Dean could put his foot in his mouth as he was apt to do when matched in a battle of wits. "As long as no one is actively trying to kill anyone else I think we can let it slide for now." She fixed a serious gaze on Dean, daring him to object.

"Right," Gabriel said with levity. "Everyone here's tried to kill someone else here at some point, right?"

Ellen gave him an irritated glance and he shrugged with a grin.

"Where is he?"

Gabriel nodded to the small doorway leading to the rest of the suite. She was through it in an instant but came up short when her eyes landed on Harry.

His face was lax with sleep, smoothing out the stress lines she'd grown used to seeing. The edge of a tattered dress shirt poked up just beyond the edge of the blanket that was covering him. Only his face could be seen but even there she could see the sunken cheeks and dark rings under his eyes. She hadn't expected him to be asleep. She'd half expected to walk into the room and find the same old Harry sitting there sipping whiskey and cracking wise.

"How long has he been like that?" she asked, acutely aware that someone had followed her.

"Nearly a day now." Came the gruff reply.

She turned startled eyes to Castiel. She hadn't expected it to be him that had followed. Of all the people in the hotel room, excluding perhaps Patrick, she had the least in common with the overly serious angel. But he stared at her now with the piercing blue eyes like he could see through her tough front straight to her very soul.

"What?" she finally snapped when he said nothing on his own.

"Maybe he's wondering what you're doing here." A familiar British lilt answered.

Ellen's head swung back to the bed so fast it popped. A single green eye peeked at her from under heavy eyelids and she felt a jolt of relief so strong her legs nearly gave out beneath her.

Slowly, the wizard peeled open the other eyes and pushed himself up with a groan and quite a bit of visible strain. His body protested and he ignored it.

Ellen rushed forward to push some pillows behind him so he wouldn't fall backward, noting every sharp knob of his spine in the process.

"Not that I'm not grateful." Harry nodded to the pillows. "But I thought you got out of all this."

She offered him a wan smile as she back out of his personal space. Leave it to Harry to cut right to the center of something. She took a seat at the end of the bed. "I had a lot of time to think while I was away." She started. "About me, about… about Jo, about this life.

Harry nodded obviously willing to let her talk. She had her suspicions is was so that the attention would not shift his direction.

"I thought for a while that I would give it up… could give it up. I moved up North. Small town. Everyone knew everyone else. Everything went well for a few months… then something started attacking people in the next town over. I ignored it. I told myself some other hunter would deal with it. No came. Three weeks later that thing ended up in my town. Of all places…" she shook her head and gave and exasperated huff.

"It's not easy to leave the life behind once you know what's out there." Harry conceded.

"I see Sleeping Beauty's finally awake." Gabriel's voice called jovially from where he stood, shoulder leaned against the door frame. "Did prince charming give you a kiss?"

Harry gave him nothing more than a raised eyebrow at the comment. His eyes slid past the arch angel to the three waiting to enter the room behind him. His eyes slid past Dean and Patrick and locked on Sam. A small frown played across his face.

Silence rippled through the room.

"I'm not sure why you're all here if you intend to mimic paperweights." Harry finally snapped when he'd had enough of their staring.

Ellen snapped out of it immediately. "Sorry." She said. "It's just, I've been looking for a way to find you and then get you out of Hell for months. It's sort of weird to see you here so suddenly."

"Months for us…" Dean butted in. "Which means decades for you." He looked as if he were sizing Harry up, perhaps using his own stay in Hell as a sort of reference for how bad it must have been for Harry.

"Nearly a century, give or take a few years." This earned uncomfortable looks from just about everyone in the room. Dean just looked wary. "Not nearly as long as my first tour in hell, mind you. So you can drop the 'is he a demon' pretense. It's not appreciated."

Somehow the words were less than reassuring to the paranoid hunter.

"Honestly though…" Harry continued, trying to diffuse the tension. "I'm curious how you managed to get us back. No one sold their soul, did they? I don't want to have to make a trip back downstairs any time soon just to break a contract."

"What do you mean 'us'?" Ellen picked out the oddity in his statement from a mile off and was utterly lost by it.

Harry blinked a few times as if trying to pick apart his statement or hers. A frown tugged at his lips. "What do _you_ mean?" he finally shot back tone just as confused as hers, as if the answer were obvious.

Everyone was tense at Harry's confession that more than just himself was brought back. Dean's and Sam's fingers twitched unnecessarily close to their weapons.

Hardened green eyes surveyed the room's occupants before coming to a rest on Sam. He stared intensely for a long moment before understanding lit his features. It was immediately followed by something akin to guilt. He shook his head. His eyes locked with Sam's.

"I guess you didn't make it back."

XXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Sorry, sorry, sorry. This was meant to be up ages ago. Life has a way of knocking down my plans though. Three girls at work were fired and another got bit by a snake so everyone's been extra shifts to keep the store running. It's been tough to do that and write. Something had to give. Unfortunately it was the thing which I enjoy more but don't get paid for. ^^;**

**Still, it's here now. Right? Right? *sigh***

**So, a few things will pop up canon but for the most part expect a derailment from the normal plotlines. **

**Also, good call from everyone suspecting Sam's soul was gone. I wasn't trying to be overly subtle in this chapter but last chapter I didn't realize I let enough go for anyone to catch on. **

**Thank you guys for the lovely reviews and all the favorites and follows I received last chapter. There was a MASSIVE influx of them. It was a little scary to be honest but I'm very appreciative. You guys are fantastic. Thanks for reading! **

**~Kanathia**


	3. Ch 3: Lost and Found

In his defense Harry was being super vague. It was totally within his rights to pull his gun and demand answers. Dean huffed and turned again. He was pacing the floor in the tiny hotel room next door where Ellen had banished him the moment he pulled a gun. There weren't a lot of places to go in a town the size of Pioche so he'd been forced to take up the only other vacant room.

Was it so bad that he wanted answers? He just wanted to make sure that Lucifer hadn't popped out of Hell again, especially with the angel's penchant for wanton killing and stalking his brother.

He'd expected at least the other hunters in the room to side with him. Instead Ellen had immediately knocked his weapon from his hand and Sam had just stood back as if sizing up the situation.

It was the sort of non-reaction from Sam Dean was becoming used to but it still irked him. And Ellen could've put a bit more faith in him. He wasn't going to shoot unless Harry did something obviously threatening.

"Dean."

Dean nearly pulled the gun again as he whirled around, heart pounding. Cas stood just behind him with his usual frown in place.

"Cas!" Dean scowled and lowered his hand.

Castiel took a step back and seemed to reevaluate what he'd just done. "I should have knocked." The angel assessed.

"You think!"

"I apologize." Castiel said sounding like he legitimately regretted the slip up but he schooled his features back to their general 'stoic' look almost immediately. "But I feel you should know what's being discussed next door."

"What is it?" Dean itched to put a bullet in something. He knew he was about to get bad news and he missed the days when he could just shoot whatever his problem was.

"Your brother…" Cas suddenly seemed unsure of how to break the news.

"My brother?" Dean goaded.

Castiel took a deep breath and looked Dean square in the eye. "Your brother is missing his soul."

Dean blinked twice and stared absently as his brain tried to process what he'd just been told. "Sam's… but…"

"I know it's a lot to handle… but Ellen thought I would be the best person to deliver the news. I'm not sure I understand her reasoning." Castiel began to ramble. "Perhaps she picked up on…"

"How the hell does Sam not have a soul Cas?!" Dean cut him off. "I mean, he's been acting weird but no soul? How can he even function without? No, how the hell did he lose his soul? He didn't sell it did he? Please tell me he didn't sell it Cas."

Castiel shook his head and tried to speak but Dean was full on ranting now.

"Fuck, I knew he was acting weird. Ever since he showed up at my door I knew. Doesn't show his face for a year and suddenly he's soulless. Can't leave him alone for two minutes…" he'd devolved into muttering.

Cas simply stared for a few minutes, allowing Dean to vent his frustration lowly. "You are welcome to go back over." Cas finally cut in.

Dean stopped talking and fixed a guarded stare on the angel. "That so?"

Cas' head tilted just slightly to the side. "Yes, Ellen said so long as you refrained from physical violence or threats of such you could rejoin the group."

"How nice of her."

"She felt it important for you to be included in the conversation since it is about Sam."

Dean sent Cas an annoyed glance, but stomped to the door regardless and wrenched it open. He made the short walk to the next room in a huff allowing the tension to build up and release before he set foot into the room. He needed answers. He couldn't get those if they made him sit on the bench again. And he had no doubt that between all the mojo in the room they could more than make him do anything.

He opened the door without so much as knocking. Only Sam turned his way and even then it was with that damned blank face of his.

"Dean, I-"

"Yeah, save it." Dean pushed past his 'brother'. It was going to be hard to think of him as such until they got his soul back. And they were definitely getting his soul 'd be damned if he was gonna let his not brother gallivant around being creepy and lifeless.

"Someone got taken out of the naughty corner." Gabriel joked as Dean pushed his way past Sam and into the room proper. He was only a few feet from the bed now and Harry's weary eyes shifted his direction.

The first words out of his mouth were not what Dean was expecting to hear. "I'm sorry."

Dean felt quite like a deer caught in the headlights. "I… uh…" he floundered. "It's not… your fault."

Dean scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Harry gave him a half hearted skeptical look. "I appreciate the sentiment but you weren't there Dean." Harry replied caustically. "You don't know what was or was not my fault."

Well the hunter definitely didn't know what to say to that. He was shit at encouragement and comforting words. That was his brother's area of expertise and Sammy didn't have a soul so he doubted he'd be giving pep talks any time soon.

"I'll tell you what I told them."

* * *

"Our searches aren't turning up anything conclusive, but that's sort of what we expected."

Michael nodded.

"We've put angels near every one of his old hang outs." The female angels continued glancing momentarily to her superior. "If he resurfaces we'll know immediately."

"It doesn't feel like enough."

"Patience is a virtue."

Michael looked absolutely livid when he directed his glare her way. "It is one I lack."

She did not back down, holding his stare determinedly. "We could send troupes to scour the Earth." She suggested levelly. "But it would leave the heavenly host weak. We already have those who question your ability to lead after the apocalypse fell through. If we give them chance they will seize Heaven."

"Let them try." Michael fumed.

"And they will. And surely we could beat them back." She replied. "But how many of our brothers and sisters would die in the process?"

"We would turn more our way."

"You know the process does not always take, and even a modicum of doubt is enough to send another angel the way of Castiel."

"You've made your point." Michael asserted as she opened her mouth to continue.

"Of course." She nodded.

"Make sure everyone is treating this with the utmost importance."

"Of course." She replied again and turned to leave.

"Naomi."

She turned back meeting his expectant gaze eagerly.

"Find him."

* * *

_Wind whipped about making the alley a haze. His eyes wouldn't focus beside the point and his mind was a whir of motion and yet it was completely empty at the same time. He could not have described the feeling if asked to call on it later. It was a feeling of pure adrenaline and power. A feeling of singleminded fury._

_And power coursed through his veins like a wildfire. The whole of his body was afloat with coursing, raging magic. He could feel it whip against the world around him but he was solely focused on one objective, one person. Lucifer._

_Strike after strike their powers met and cancelled each other. Hit after hit they wore at each other. He had the upper hand here he knew. Lucifer had never seen him unleash the extent of his power. He doubted the arch angel could stand against such a move, but a niggling in the back of his head said 'don't do it'._

_Lucifer skidded back and Harry pressed enthusiastically. His power hummed happily as it finally had the freedom it sought. He bowled into the angel letting his magic rip free in a terrible blow that should end the fight._

_Fingers curled around the fabric of his sleeve and suddenly he was being jerked along with the angel. They tumbled head over heel disorientating Harry additionally and his magic screamed at him that something bad was about to happen but that only stunned him further._

_Fingers, ice cold, slid down his leg and came to a bruising halt on his ankle. And suddenly there was another hand holding his, this one much warmer. A weightlessness lulled him toward sleep but a sudden screaming pain kept him from such niceties. _

"…_wake.. up."_

_Harry blinked the world around him back into existence and with it came realization. Sam clung to his arm. He was his only lifeline now but the ice cold fingers clawing at his ankle were most certainly Lucifer's. _

_He spared just the briefest reprimanding glance for the angel keeping Sam out of the portal even as he resigned himself. Pain lunged through him. His magic was fighting the dimensional pull but he'd used too much. It was losing. _

"_You have to… let go." He managed in pain through every word. He could his body struggling to stay in the human dimension but Lucifer wasn't letting his soul go. He could feel the anger boiling from the angel._

"_I'm not letting you go in there." Sam argued tugging harder but it was that effort that led to the end of it all. _

_The portal back lashed. Almost in slow motion Harry could see Sam pitch forward as if giving a mighty tug and falling forward because of it. Unimaginable pain erupted from his arm and they were sailing for a brief moment before they crashed into what could only be Harry's worst nightmare._

* * *

Lightning forked across the sky and a skulking figure made its way across a dimly lit street small sack in hand. The thin man looked behind himself thrice before opening a creaky metal door and then locking it behind himself. A flickering red light was all the ambiance the tiny, ratty hallway had and he vacated it quickly as well.

He was smiling from ear to ear as he stepped into one of the larger rooms off the hall. The drips from broken pipes could be heard here and the scuttle of small rodents but his attention was elsewhere. Specifically he was watching the man on the other side of the room.

"I found it."

Hands closed around the eager man's wrist immediately and the cloth sack he'd been holding was ripped from his hand. He took two hasty steps back clutching his hand and looking scandalized by the needless violence, but he held his tongue. He at least had the mind to do that.

The second man was not as diminutive as the first. He had a proud set to his shoulders and a scowl usually set on his brow, but right now he was smiling. He carefully reached into the bag and removed its contents reverently. A book sat in his hand old and decrepit but whole and intact.

He stroked its cover several times reverently then his eyes flew to the smaller man that had brought this prize and the scowl resettled. "Where was it?"

"We tracked it through the black market." The small man replied. "We found it in a private library."

The man stroked the leather under his fingers again and the book almost seemed to thrum its pleasure at being held by someone that was not human. It must have been a long time since it had made its way into a creature's hands.

"Is it… is it the real one?" the small man asked hesitantly. "It has to be. I-"

Before the man could continue whatever he'd been on the verge of saying he was dead. He fell lifelessly to the floor and spasmed once as his eyes stared unseeingly to the wall. The other man stood over him and grimaced in disgust. "Filthy humans." He muttered.

He moved to the wall and cleared a spot in the middle of his possessions for this new treasure. He set it down gently. "The _Book of the Mother_." He said with a hint of awe. "We've found our salvation at last."

* * *

"How long do you think it'll be…" Ellen trailed off unsurely. "Before you're… you know…"

Harry gave her a wan smile. "Hunters, always so brash." He replied obviously amused. "I always wondered what a hunter diagnosed with cancer would do… Keep fighting monsters til it killed him surely."

Ellen looked mildly embarrassed but the question was obviously still on the table.

"A few weeks maybe?" Harry predicted unsurely. "My healing processes don't take nearly as long as a normal human's, but that doesn't mean they don't still take time."

He was definitely telling the truth. They'd only been at the hotel maybe two days, most of which Harry had slept through, but in that time he'd already regained a slight amount of his muscle tone and he didn't look as sickly pale. That might have had something to do with the massive amounts of food he'd been taking in though. He'd consumed easily three times as much as even Dean during every meal time. It was a feat none of them had even thought possible as Dean ate like a pig.

"Speaking of hunters though…" Harry trailed off as he shifted himself forward to put on a sock. "Where are tweedle dee and tweedle dum right now?"

"Sam caught scent of a hunt in the area and Dean refuses to let him go off on his own so he tagged along. They left last night after dinner."

Harry nodded absently. "Strange he wouldn't want Sam on his own for an evening or two. Apparently the kid's been on his own for nigh on a year now and the world hasn't exploded yet."

Ellen winced at the tone Harry used. "He doesn't blame you." Ellen tried to reassure him.

"He should." Harry's eyes met hers and though there was less guilt than she'd seen before his tone still sounded with an edge of finality. He didn't want to talk about it. As soon as he was capable she had no doubt he'd be trying to break into the cage after Sam's soul.

Guilt was building inside of her as well.

She'd left Sam down there.

Sure, she hadn't known he was down there… but if she'd just found the boys sooner. Surely she would have realized something was amiss with the younger brother. No, she had to stop. Survivor's guilt was taking hold, the same feelings that had poured out of her after Jo's death were swarming her. She put a lid on the emotions.

"So, we haven't really gotten to talk about much besides hell." Harry said with a gratuitous stretch and a slightly warmer expression. "What's new with the world?"

"Well, monsters are going bat shit insane for starters."

Ellen jolted at the voice that sounded just behind her.

"How long have you been there?" she asked irately.

"Right around the 'boohoo I blame myself' moment from Harry here." Patrick supplied with a cocky grin.

Harry gave him one of his signature annoyed glances but didn't comment on his second statement. "What's wrong with the monsters?"

Ellen shrugged even though the statement had been directed her way. Even though she'd put herself back in the game she'd primarily been looking for Harry. Hunting had come second and she hadn't been pulling info on creatures. She was nearly as out of the loop as Harry and Dean were.

"Werewolves attacking on half moons, vampires out in the daylight, you name a monster and it's doing the opposite of what it usually does." Patrick filled in when it was obvious Ellen wasn't going to speak up. "I've never seen anything like it."

It was obvious from the look that Patrick was giving him that he was curious as to whether Harry had ever experienced anything of the sort. Harry shook his head. "It's new to me, but we shouldn't ignore it." He said with a frown. His mind was racing through reasons the creatures might be acting oddly.

Ellen nodded her agreement. It had to be significant.

"When did they start acting out?"

Patrick took a moment to ponder the question. "Shortly after your trip downstairs if hunter rumor should be believed." He stopped then he eyed Harry deliberately. "Strange thing, that. I popped by Utah on my way to finding you and instead I wandered on something off putting."

The witch reached into his coat and produced a long, slender object. It was startlingly white and pointed towards one end. At first glance Harry had almost thought Patrick had produced a wand but it most certainly wasn't one. The larger end was jagged like it had been broken roughly from its source and there were smudges of some dark material there.

"Is that bone?" Harry asked, disgusted.

"That's from a wraith." Ellen said with equal amounts of disgust but also a fair amount of confusion and curiosity.

"Indeed it is. Ten points to the lady." Patrick smiled and set the bone down on the table between Ellen and him. "Which raises the question, why was there a wraith in the middle of the woods at night in the same town where you touched down?"

Harry just gave him a nonplussed look.

"It's a fair question…" Ellen agreed. "Wraiths don't usually hunt in forests. They usually prey on the weak willed and the trapped. That's why prisons are usually infested with them."

"You just said not five minutes ago monsters were doing weird stuff…" Harry said in confusion. "This doesn't qualify as just another weird thing."

"It might have." Patrick nodded. "But hunters say there was a mass slaughtering in Beaver, Utah just after the angel brigade swept you out of the area. Monsters of all types were everywhere. That tells me they were looking for something and they weren't afraid to expose themselves to find it."

Harry scoffed. "What? I'm the holy monster grail now?"

"Are you?" Patrick shot back immediately.

Ellen flipped her head between the two in confusion.

"I went on a year long search for you." Patrick reminded him. "I dug up some pretty shady shite in the process mate."

Harry shrugged the accusation off.

Patrick huffed pettily. "All I'm saying is they're definitely looking for you and I doubt they're the only ones. Until you're in super Harry mode again I'd recommend keeping it on the down low."

"Which is exactly what he's going to be doing."

"People really need to start knocking around here." Harry muttered as his gaze flicked to Gabriel who was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. A small smirk played across the angel's lips. "I mean, give us a little bit of credit. We weren't going to let him go do cartwheels in front of a werewolf three days after he got pulled out of hell."

"I'm sure." Patrick said, though he was obviously holding doubts on the subject. "Well, I've said my piece. I'm sure you'd all like to get back to whatever it is you do when I'm not lingering in the background."

"Spain again?" Harry was leaning forward and eying the witch with a knowing look.

Patrick shot him a winning grin and a wink and slipped past Gabriel.

"Spain?" Ellen asked when the hotel door clicked closed.

* * *

Dean walked stiff legged to the impala arms held splayed out and a look of utter disgust on his face. Thick brownish orange sludge dripped from his body as he moved. About ten feet behind him Sam followed with a little smirk on his face.

Slowly Dean peeled his overcoat off and tossed it to the ground. The stuff smelled at least twice as bad as it looked. "Thanks for the heads up." Dean fumed shucking off more of the soiled clothing.

"You seemed like you had it under control." Sam replied. "Besides, if I'd told you it was about to vomit it would have known I was behind it."

"Yeah whatever." Dean pulled off his under shirt and pants and stood there in nothing but his underwear staring at the ruined clothing.

"You should probably get that off soon." Sam motioned to the vomit still lingering on his exposed skin. "There's no telling what a Crocotta's vomit could do to your skin."

"Since when do they puke on people like the damned exorcist chick anyway?" Dean asked angrily.

Sam just shrugged as he took his seat in the car.

Dean muttered as he joined his brother and drove off.

* * *

**So, so, so, so, so sorry guys. I've had this done for ages but had no way to upload. I only have internet on my phone but I can't transfer text files on. It really sucks. : (**

**I finally got the chance to travel to a larger library that has internet. So for the time being, until we get our home internet running again, I guess I'll be coming up here to upload. **

**It shouldn't take a terribly large amount of time to get the next chapter up. Not nearly as long as it took between this chapter and the last one. So, have patience with me. **

**I'll see you guys next time. Til then!**

**~Kanathia**


End file.
